Kamikaze Newt: Trying to Win, or Out for Revenge?
EmailThe much-awaited first Newt Gingrich attack ad on Mitt Romney is out, blasting Romney as “timid” when it comes to creating jobs.
But here’s the thing about that ad: It’s timid. It quotes a Wall Street Journal editorial, but uses none of the most damaging details and footage from Romney’s past, parts of Romney’s past he himself has, remarkably, managed not to have to face directly from his rivals this election cycle.
It raises a fundamental question (to borrow a favorite Newt formulation) about Gingrich’s campaign: Is he trying to win, and is he employing a strategy that would move him toward something more than settling scores?
Start with his current targets: On the trail, Gingrich is still hitting Ron Paul every bit as hard as he is Romney.
Paul is not now and will not be a serious threat to the nomination. Gingrich’s attacks on his foreign-policy positions might feel good to him and sound good to a mainstream GOP audience, but they won’t determine the nomination.
Then there’s Romney. Yes, Gingrich is starting to swing back, after his strategy of unilateral disarmament backfired in Iowa, or, more accurately, was blown away by Romney’s well-heeled supporters who sent his campaign into a tailspin.
Yes, Gingrich might, as he’s promising to start to do, unload on Romney with the trove of information that’s already out there, or new fronts, tagging Romney with inconsistent support for conservative positions.
But the race really isn’t about bringing down Romney, at least not yet. It’s about becoming the alternative to Romney, a spot that’s up for grabs still.
That post won’t end up mattering unless the candidate to occupy it becomes the overwhelming choice of the three-fourths of Republicans who still favor someone not named Mitt.
That brings the discussion to Rick Santorum, whose meteoric rise in Iowa has brought him huge crowds in New Hampshire, with South Carolina an even better demographic fit down the road. He’s the beneficiary of the same sort of surge Gingrich felt just a few weeks ago.
Here’s what Gingrich said of Santorum, to Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, last night: “We’re both conservatives. We’re old friends.”
All true enough. Yet they happen to be friends who are after the same crop of Republican voters.
Maintaining such friendships in the midst of the campaign probably feels about as good as settling scores from previous races. But that doesn’t amount to a strategy aimed at winning a nomination.
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“Paul is not now and will not be a serious threat to the nomination.”
This is nonsense. The media is feverishly repeating this over and over because they hope if they say it enough, it will be true.
Polling above 20% in the first two states is pretty serious, especially when there is a huge amount of resistance to Mitt Romney among the rank and file.
It’s just aggravating to see those little jabs thrown into just about any article that ever mentions Ron Paul.
Posted by: Joe M | January 5, 2012, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
Hey Joe, Yup, it’s the FAUX News style of putting out the lies/truths that they want people to glom onto and repeat over and over and over and….. TRUTH, Ron Paul can’t become President because HIS isolationist ideas just do NOT fit in with today’s world. He also has some questionable views regarding certain people and it smells like racism, looks like racism and QUACKS like racism. I think he’s a bit of a racist. While SADLY there ARE a lot of folks in this nation that LIKE this, the MAJORITY of people DO NOT!!!! So in reality, Ron Paul will NOT become President!!!
Posted by: demNme5 | January 5, 2012, 12:53 pm 12:53 pm
I really can’t stand newt
Posted by: Connor | January 5, 2012, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
Joe, you Paul supporters are going to learn a very hard lesson. Ron Paul will never be the president of the USA. He is too radical in too many arenas for mainstream America. And mainstream America chooses the president. Not the GOP, despite their thinking to the contrary. The Republican Party – Ron Paul’s own Party – doesn’t want him as president. What on earth makes you think the rest of the country does? He’s run twice before and gotten nowhere. For a very good reason. He’s too radical. America doesn’t like radical. I personally think he has a few good ideas. But he has far too many crazy ideas, too. His negatives outweigh his positives by a country mile.
Posted by: A Cynic | January 5, 2012, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
There is no doubt Newt is egotistical and petty enough to go really, really negative. The question isn’t will he do it, but when will he do it, and how low will he go……….
Posted by: A Cynic | January 5, 2012, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm
The GOP establishment wants Mitt Romney. He’s the corporate Prince. They would like to see the conservative vote stay fractured. If not, Romney can’t win in the southern conservative states.
I don’t like him but Newt is the only candidate not afraid to take on Romney. He’s right that Romney lets his PACs do the infighting while he does his 10 second sound bites and calls the President names.
The other candidates stay away from Romney’s 59 point disaster plan and never mention the huge salary and bonuses he got from Bain Capital for laying people off. It’s all in the tax records he hides. The American people already know what’s in them so quit being wimps and go after him.
No conservative republican is ever going to vote for President Obama, but a lot of them won’t vote for Mitt either. I see a third party or a strong write in movement.
.
Posted by: tmferretti | January 5, 2012, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
I think Mitt knows that we can take nothing for granted.
We must work hard to earn the trust, support, and respect of New Hampshire residents.
Mitt Romney didn’t even rest for a forth night after Iowa and came directly to New Hampshire.
That proves that Mitt is a hard worker.
He needs our support and encouragement to withstand the negativity that is going to come his way.
I have no doubt that Mitt Romney has the personal fortitude to withstand it and fire back a few good punches of his own.
We all know that just like Ronald Reagan, Mitt Romney has become more Conservative over time.
Just like Ronald Reagan he was a Republican governor of a Democratic state.
Just like Ronald Reagan, Mitt had a successful career outside of politics before coming to politics.
Just like Ronald Reagan, Mitt will attract not only Republicans but also independents and the Reagan Democrats.
Just like Ronald Reagan, Mitt will make an exceptional Republican President.
Posted by: Romney Supporter | January 5, 2012, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm
If I had wanted a pontificating, professorial, self-absorbed president, I would have voted for Gore. All I can think of when I think of Newt is how he was standing there condemning Clinton for his infidelity with an intern while he himself was cheating on his wife. The man disgusts me.
Posted by: colinalcarz | January 5, 2012, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
Mitt is not another Ronald Reagan, ask any conservative republican. As a democrat I disagreed with Reagan on many issues but I think he had character and worked with democrats (especially Tip O’Neill) to get things done for this country. I also remember his campaign, he never criticized Jimmy Carter directly, he attacked Carter’s policies and offered solutions of his own. Reagan was a middle class man.
Mitt does 10 second sound bites while his PACs do the attacking. He’s the most liberal of all the candidates although he tries to hide it. I don’t like Newt either, but he does see what a phony Mitt is and that he is nowhere near Reagan’s stature.
It reminds me when Dan Quail tried to pass himself off as another John Kennedy and got slapped down.
Posted by: tmferretti | January 5, 2012, 1:55 pm 1:55 pm
They are a bunch of morons!! They should try getting ready for 2016 since they have no one of any value for 2012.
Posted by: Eric | January 5, 2012, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
Nobody, not one single person, cares what a dimwitted liberal thinks about Republicans. This fool is simply stealing money if he gets a paycheck.
Posted by: BcdErick | January 5, 2012, 4:07 pm 4:07 pm
Is Newt launching another book release perhaps to ride the wake of his ‘candidacy’?
Posted by: Pep | January 5, 2012, 5:46 pm 5:46 pm